Updates from the Jim Joseph Foundation, June 2013

Rabbi Samuel K. Joseph, Ph.D., Eleanor Sinsheimer Distinguished Service Professor of Jewish Education and Leadership Development, and Dr. Adriane Leveen, Senior Lecturer in Hebrew Bible, write, “As part of an executive master’s degree at HUC-JIR, we designed a seven week long online, distance learning course, first offered in January 2011: Introduction to Jewish Educational Leadership. What did we learn from designing such a course? Technology can be an extraordinary asset! That statement comes from two professors who are “technological immigrants” and had approached the technological dimension of the course with noticeable hesitation and some grumbling. Yet, aided by the skill and creativity of our educational technology specialists, we found ways to enrich and reinforce our goals in a variety of electronic formats.”

At the Network for Research in Jewish Education conference, there was unprecedented activity around thinking together to build capacity in the doctoral training of researchers. At a meeting on “Advancing Doctoral Training in Jewish Education: A Group Inquiry,” participants took a “guided tour” of posters that described the requirements, dissertation topics, and graduate job placements for the Ph.D. or Ed.D. programs in Jewish Education at top universities, including HUC-JIR. One idea that emerged in this conversation was an interest in greater collaboration among graduate students and faculty across these institutions.

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Founded in 1875, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion is North America's leading institution of higher Jewish education and the academic, spiritual, and professional leadership development center of Reform Judaism. HUC-JIR educates men and women for service to North American and world Jewry as rabbis, cantors, educators, and nonprofit management professionals, and offers graduate programs to scholars and clergy of all faiths. With centers of learning in Cincinnati, Jerusalem, Los Angeles, and New York, HUC-JIR's scholarly resources comprise the renowned Klau Library, The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives, museums, research institutes and centers, and academic publications. In partnership with the Union for Reform Judaism and the Central Conference of American Rabbis, HUC-JIR sustains the Reform Movement's congregations and professional and lay leaders. HUC-JIR's campuses invite the community to cultural and educational programs illuminating Jewish heritage and fostering interfaith and multiethnic understanding. www.huc.edu

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The HUC-JIR website is supported, in part, by the Jim Joseph Foundation, the Jewish Foundation of Cincinnati, the Golden Family Foundation, and the Irma L. and Abram S. Croll Center for Jewish Learning and Culture.